Instead, the company will heavily invest in EV development.
Nissan will be the first Japanese automaker to completely abandon development of new engines for global markets. A new report claims that the company will focus its efforts on electric vehicles, with the exception of the United States, where new gasoline engines will be developed and launched.
Nikkei is a leading financial newspaper in the world and an industry-reliable source of information. According to the publication, Nissan has stopped developing combustion engines for European markets because the Euro 7 emissions standards will pose a major challenge for auto companies. According to reports, the Japanese firm believes these new rules will substantially increase R&D costs for the next-generation diesel and gas engines.
In Japan and China, Nissan will slowly phase out the development new combustion engines. Instead, the automaker will update and improve its existing fuel-burning mills and pay particular attention to hybrid vehicles. Sources familiar with the plans told Nikkei that no engine plant will close and no jobs would be lost.
The report states that Nissan will continue to design new engines for truck and SUV markets in the United States. However, there is still a demand for older-powered vehicles. According to the report, the company will reduce its annual investment in engine R&D by about 500 billion yen (roughly $4.3 billion at current exchange rates). The company expects to invest a large portion of these savings in the development of electric powertrains and vehicles.